Tag: special edition

Posted 55 years ago by

Shooting with Chris was some of the most fun we ever had at a photo shoot. I can’t be sure but I think I heard him call me a ‘motherfucker’ while trying to get my solo shot…he wanted me as intense as possible and he chain-smoked as he worked. I’m way into this guy and I feel like I gained a collaborator and a friend. He had brought so many wonderful things to the shoot, so many great extras…he even referenced the makeup of the WWI soldiers to match Akira Kurosawa’s ‘Dreams,’ my favorite scene in a movie ever. One of the best parts of the photograph is that with the exception of the gray sky and the zeppelins, everything is real. Every single person, every prop down to the taxidermy wolf were all there with us, no computer tricks. It is one the craziest photographs ever taken. I should note that Dante, who played The Patient for the photos, was very sweet.

Gerard Way, Black Parade Special Edition
Posted 55 years ago by

We [note: he’s talking about himself and James Jean] had a second meeting about the album artwork at his house. At this meeting I finally had some music to play him and he seemed very intrigued by it. I played him ‘Mama,’ and I remember him thinking it was crazy. I told him to just go off on the artwork, showing him a sketch I had done based on ‘March Of The Saints’…he was ready to start working. As I snapped photos of his studios and his cat, Taffy, we heard a commotion from the kitchen. His wife (who is lovely) was very distraught because a bird had flown into the kitchen window and died on impact. It was a very strange moment outside, looking at the bird, and I snapped some photos of it. It felt like either bad mojo or a good omen…I’m still trying to figure out which.

Gerard Way, Black Parade Special Edition
Posted 55 years ago by

ONCE WE HAD A TITLE FOR THE RECORD, I ENDED UP DRAWING NON-STOP.

The drawings then led to characters, which led to the persona of the band. The Black Parade. I pictured them as a Death-Rock version of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, but with a sort of antique ‘Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness’ turn-of-the-century flavor (Mikey would start referring to the record as ‘Pre-Midlife Crisis and the Infinite Sadness’ an accurate description in some regards).

Gerard Way, Black Parade Special Edition
Posted 55 years ago by

So with all the elements in place we went on to mixing, which was conveniently right down the street with Chris Lord-Alge. He did a great job harnessing the power of the song and focusing the sound. One track ‘Welcome To The Black Parade,’ contained the most tracks he had ever mixed in his 20-year career. 167 tracks to be exact and he nailed it. It was really amazing to hear.

BY THE END OF THE MIXING, EVEN CHRIS HAD BECOME INFECTED BY THE MADNESS, MIXING SOME OF THE FINAL TRACKS IN A PIRATE HAT.

With tracking done and mixing on its way we began to get a lot of the final elements in place. We were almost ready to share this vision with the world.

Gerard Way, Black Parade Special Edition
Posted 55 years ago by

Eventually, we finished. But it never truly feels that way with a record like this. We lived in this world, this afterlife, for so long that it was hard to disconnect from. I could probably still work on the record if I had the chance but it’s truly perfect the way it is. Sometimes you need to know when to stop. Luckily we had a schedule to dictate that to us.

Gerard Way, Black Parade Special Edition
Posted 55 years ago by

AT TIMES IT FELT LIKE THE RECORD WAS TRYING TO KILL US.

BUT IT ONLY WANTED TO MAKE US BETTER.

It was really amazing to see the characters come to life in the songs, sometimes through guitar parts or sound effects, other times I would find myself singing in another voice, a different person…sometimes a woman and sometimes a soldier. I decided to chop off almost all of my hair, which had become long and matted again. I wanted to feel like the patient and I also wanted to strip away all of the color to my hair…I wanted it white, which I saw as the absence of life. This helped me get into character, like method acting.

As we tracked the story got tighter and tighter but also I noticed the layers started to strip away, the fiction and metaphor of everything started to fade and what was left by the end of the record was something very naked, something very honest and very obvious…

WE WERE THESE CHARACTERS. IT WAS OUR STORY WE WERE TELLING.

Gerard Way, Black Parade Special Edition